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I think of the dichotomy still inside me
I think of the dictatorship still inside me
I think of the dictionary still inside me

I think of the diet still inside me
and the solarium
rendering at the edges of me

and I’m still inside me
and I’m still inside me

— Donald Dunbar, Safe Word


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sit still while i finish your portrait

okay yes, i did digress
as i am
a wistful type

and forgetful.

i only wanted
to watch you.

 
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bird with bad wings

like a moon slammed shut
black holes in the sky
like winter honeysuckle
growing wild            everywhere
let me count them
the places we can go

 
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give me a different life

i don't want to be like him
i have nothing to lose
and that's something i never forget

 
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Disappear Completely


Did you ever suspect
that maybe I did know
what I was doing.

 
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Egg

Those things that happened,
I had meant to move through them by now.
But such a cold river of grief ran over me
that I couldn't remember who I was.
          It was your voice
          that told me: this is who you are
and pointed at my grief

 
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It Isn’t Over Yet

The past is a chain
for you, dear.
You wear it snug
around your throat, dear.

 
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Oh, I remember you

You said it will be okay, like you could know
and like I asked you and like it would be.

Well. The heart is like a mirror,
it can only be broken once.

 
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But that was a long time ago

You said I hate to keep harping on this,
     but you really must eat something.
Yes, I know.
My parents said Intelligence isn't
everything, Julia.
Yes, I know. Yes, I know.

I like fried eggs! I like jam and toast!
I can eat four slices!  I can eat the whole loaf!

 
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If you come over

Never mind.
                     But hey, come over.
The cold has already polished off October
and I miss you
ineffably. I can hardly tell anymore
if I am sketching your face
  or just imagining you
     on the front of the cereal box.

 
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